or from his post in Syracuse. Before an article published by Ernst Badian in 1993, the academic consensus was that Gaius lost his baggage 110 on his way to serve as legate in Numidia during the Jugurthine War, but former consuls serving as legates are extremely rare, and it is more likely that Gaius was praetor in Sicily in 117. Consulship (114 BC) Gaius was elected consul in 114, alongside the other plebeian Manius Acilius Balbus. He is described as consul posterior while Balbus is consul prior, which means the Centuriate Assembly elected Balbus first. Erich Gruen considers that Gaius was a supporter of the conservative Caecilii Metelli—the most powerful family at the time—even though Gaius Caecilius Metellus Caprarius was also candidate in the consular elections that year. T. R. S. Broughton however suggests that Caprarius could have withdrawn his candidacy. Gaius was assigned Macedonia as his province, which was normally given to a praetor, but a war against the Scordisci—a Celtic or Illyrian tribe from east Serbia—had broken out and a consul was needed. During the summer Gaius nevertheless suffered a crushing defeat against the Scordisci in northern Thrace, who then could enter Roman territory as far as Delphi and the Adriatic. It was the first major Roman defeat in a generation. The disaster triggered a "religious hysteria" at Rome, with a return to human sacrifice for the last time in Roman history. Two couples (one Greek and one Celtic) were therefore buried alive under the Forum Boarium. The defeat also led to the Trial of the Vestal Virgins, in which three vestals were accused of incestum. One vestal was sentenced to death in 114, but the acquittal of the other two was not accepted, and a tribune of the plebs forced their retrial in 113, which resulted in their death as well. Trials and exile (113–109 BC) As was customary with defeated commanders, Gaius was not prorogued in his province and returned to Rome in 113. He was sued at his return for extortion under the provision of the Lex Acilia repetundarum. The sentence was particularly lenient, with a fine of only 8,000 sesterces. Gaius probably benefited from the support of influential friends to escape harsher punishment, but perhaps the plaintiffs were Macedonian provincials—which would mean that Gaius was only sued for some minor damages he caused in the province and not his defeat against the Scordisci, hence